As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to replace several top-tier Pentagon officials and officers who have overseen our military support of Ukraine, the Biden administration has announced that it has given permission to Kyiv to use long-range American missiles (Army Tactical Missiles Systems, or ATACMS) to strike deep inside Russia, a policy change that risks escalation of the Russia–Ukraine war, even as Trump and his transition team plan to seek a negotiated ceasefire to the conflict. The resistance to Trump’s policy preferences has begun in the most dangerous place — the Pentagon. The military-industrial complex will not readily surrender its policy of victory in Ukraine, even if that means bringing us closer to a full-scale Russia–NATO war. Putin has previously stated that such a decision by the U.S. and its NATO allies “will mean nothing less than the direct participation of NATO countries, the United States, and European countries in the war in Ukraine.” This decision comes in the face of a report that Trump will soon name a peace envoy to facilitate negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow to end the war. CNN reports that some U.S. officials have expressed concerns that the decision will escalate the war and deplete already dwindling stockpiles of such long-range weapons. Meanwhile, Britain and France have provided Storm Shadow cruise missiles with a range of 155 miles to Ukraine. Biden’s decision essentially creates facts on the ground that may make it more difficult for Trump to negotiate a ceasefire. The longer-range missiles will not allow Ukraine to win the war, but they will enable Ukrainian forces to inflict greater damage on Russian forces and assets located deeper inside the country. Putin’s reaction will determine whether this provocative act will result in further escalation and delay any negotiations proposed by the incoming Trump administration. Why is this provocative? The missiles have a range of 190 miles, which means they can reach Kursk, Voronezh, and Rostov. The GPS targeting system for the U.S. ATACMS missiles involves the use of U.S. satellites — the missiles cannot be fired without the involvement of the U.S. military. As journalist Christopher Caldwell recently noted, the use of such systems would constitute a “deadly, unambiguously American authored act of war,” and a “rash escalation” of the war. This decision, writes Caldwell, made by a president who even the Democrats admit is in cognitive decline draws the United States “closer to active participation” in the war. (RELATED: NATO Worried About Biden and Ukraine) The chairman of Russia’s State Duma warned that if the U.S. and NATO provided Ukraine with long-range missiles, Russia would use “more powerful and destructive weapons.” A member of Russia’s upper house international affairs committee warned that the decision by Biden “is a very big step towards the start of World War Three. The chairman of Russia’s lower house foreign affairs committee added: ‘Strikes with U.S. missiles deep into Russian regions will inevitably entail a serious escalation, which threatens to lead to much more serious consequences.’” Although the question of whether to allow Ukraine to use the ATACAMS has been debated for months by the Biden administration, the timing of this announcement comes at a curious moment — just two months before the Trump administration takes power. Donald Trump, Jr is quoted on social media as saying: “The military-industrial complex seems to want to make sure they get World War 3 going before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives.” Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green, a staunch Trump ally in Congress, wrote on X: “On his way out of office, Joe Biden is dangerously trying to start WWIII by authorizing Ukraine the use of U.S. long range missiles into Russia . . . Enough of this, it must stop.” David Sacks also wrote on X that Biden’s decision will “massively escalate” the war and will “hand Trump the worst situation possible.” Charlie Kirk added, “Biden is trying to start World War 3. This is pathological and totally insane. . . Imagine if Russia supplied missiles to fire into America!” Since the very first NATO enlargement decision in the late 1990s, the United States and NATO have ignored Russian sensibilities and unambiguous warnings about the consequences of their decisions. It is a sad tale of Cold War victory leading to hubris then tragedy, and it is skillfully and carefully recounted in the forthcoming book Hubris: The American Origins of Russia’s War Against Ukraine by Jonathan Haslam, the George F. Kennan professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. Biden’s decision to further escalate the Ukraine war appears as a last-ditch effort by the military-industrial complex to undermine Donald Trump’s ability to negotiate an end to this tragic conflict and, depending on Putin’s response, may lead to a wider, more dangerous war. READ MORE from Francis Sempa: With Trump’s Presidency, the China Hawks Are Back The Growing Irrelevance of the Mainstream Media Trump’s Well-Chosen Promises The post Is Biden Trying to Start World War III Before Trump Takes Office? appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.